The Endless Journey - Chapter 1
by J4CK TH3 R1PP3R
Summary: a Harry Potter story


The Endless Journey

"Heelp" screamed Ron as he sped along the field barely managing to stay on top of his old broom. The broom then started to shout curses towards him. More screams as he just barely missed being hit in the head by the Bludger. "Bloody hell, bloody hell" he kept saying as he flew into the great hall. Still trying to lose the Bludger which was right on his tail.

"Ron, Ron, wake up."

"Bloody hell, that was way too intense."

"Drink this when I tell you to." Whispered Harry.

"Harry, is that the liquid lu…?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah the one I got last week."

Ron had already known what it was from the beginning, and was weighing his options. Neither seemed positive. On one hand he could play fair and risk being deadweight. On the opposite hand, he could probably cheat a little bit, and risk being kicked out of the team while winning the cup. Just as he was inching towards the decision of receiving a bit of help from luck itself.

"Don't drink it Ron." insisted Hermione

Taking Hermione's advice Ron sat still a little longer before standing up, and awkwardly bringing the vile up to his mouth, like he was hesitating.

"Might as well just drink it now than standing here all day waiting for someone to come on in and ruin the whole plan." Finally, with his mind made up Ron took a full swing and the liquid luck disappeared down his throat.

"Does this thing work?" Ron said turning towards Harry

"Sure it does. Remember it changes your luck not your body."

"What's wrong with him." said the looks of bypassers as Ron passed about feeling more energy than he ever had. Saying things like "Make sure you bid on us." or "Don't worry I'll save the day." Harry was

battling himself to stop from laughing out loud. Quickly Harry ran out almost bursting with laughter. Just as he was laughing, tears into his eyes, Cho turned a corner and noticed Harry laughing under the invisibility cloak.

"Knock, knock." she whispered as she pulled the cloak open. "Hi Harry." she said with a wide smile. Her sudden move shocked Harry as his face turned pale white. She stared at his face for a while. No words came out of his mouth for a few minutes, but still he gave a laugh.

"Ohh… Hey Cho. You gave me a fright!" answered Harry nervously. His full body was shaking continuously. But then he remembered he was talking to Cho. "I was looking for you. Are you going to the match?"

"Well yes, of course" she answered as she held his hands. Cho had a few unanswered questions. "How could I miss your match." She gave a smooth hug to Harry, then asked "Harry, why were you hiding under your cloak. Is something wrong?"

"Ummm…, nothing serious. I was just hiding from Hermione." He answered. The whole place was almost empty. Harry led Cho to an area in the entrance hall where they can talk quietly. "This morning I tried to encourage Ron for the match by giving him THE LIQUID LUCK. Well I tricked him by switching the potion with water. He felt so energized. He almost rode his broom jus t to get to the arena. I hope it works for him." Harry gasped.

Cho's mind was spinning with thoughts as she instantly noticed Harry's worried face. She looked at his green eyes and said "Harry, its not your fault. Trying to help someone is not for worrying. Now just forget everything and try to concentrate on the match." He nodded as Cho gave a kiss on his cheek. He finally managed to clear his mind. "Com'n Harry, lets go to the arena." she said in a soft tone.

Ron along with the other members of the Quidditch team. Just as they were walking down to the field, Ron noticed Harry walking with Cho. Their face was the brightest thing on the road. Happiness was glowing with them as Ron rushed to them. "I'll see you after the match, Cho." shouted Harry with a bright look, once again grabbed his Firebolt from the ground.

"Bye Harry, I'll see you around. Good Luck."

Harry stared at her until she was out of view. He was full of excitement and happiness. As soon as he looked at Ron, he started to move toward his teammates. They were barely halfway down the stairs to the arena from the castle. Ron was feeling both nervous and frightened. Last year's Quidditch cup final was a whole different match, but this year he was playing as one of the players. An unusual shade of clouds began to form with a rogue wind as Ron made an face due to the unusual weather.

Almost thirty minutes before the match, a sudden words with a deep voice came from the back. A guy who has eyes as black as his name. As soon as Sirius asked about the game Ron felt a sudden chill as if the effects of the Felix Felicius had worn off. "Bloody hell" whispered Ron as he turned around and started to face the others side. "Hey, Ron, how's the new keeper." Sirius said as he got a strong hold of Ron preventing him from running away without answering. "Um… Good I guess." "Attaboy, that's the spirit." Sirius continued. "You know, when I was your age, I used to be a chaser and a bloody good one at that. We'd have all kinds of formations. Good old Potter, Harry's father used to be the team's captain. All kinds of crazy ideas, but always the good type. Quite a streak we had going. You guys should give a tryout to those ideas. I've got it all here, your fathers journal." And much to everyone astonishing, Sirius brought out an old, worn out, leather diary. "Here Harry, he, um… gave this to me and told me to give it to someone whoever you think it may concern. And I think this concerns you." Wearily, not knowing what to say, Harry took his fathers journal, keeps sake with tears of both happiness and sadness "Thanks, Sirius." Harry said getting a hold of himself. The small journal that felt so light in his hands, had such a heavy presence. Almost as if all the secrets within were adding more weight to it. Not physically, but mentally. "Your father would have been proud of you." Sirius said proudly.

The roaring of the crowd was spinning around the stadium. It was the first Quidditch game of the season. All but the weather was cooperating with the great event. A typical autumn storm. Thick fog that limited the vision of players and fans alike. Dark thunderous clouds hovered overhead as an increasingly strong wind was blowing through.

Putting his wand to his neck Dumbledore cleared his throat and said with a booming voice.

"The game has been postponed till further notice due to the current weather." Dumbledore announced to the crowd of students booing intensively.

"Headmaster, why don't we ask the team captains about their opinion about the situation?" Inquired Sirius.

"Don't you think it's a bit out of their control? The weather?" replied Dumbledore. There was still a little stiffness in his face.

"That's true, but in the other way it will add excitement to the game." Dumbledore nodded.

After a brief moment, Dumbledore turned toward the professors "Do you think we should give the captains the authority to start the game? Consider this carefully, your decisions are final."

Few moments later Dumbledore announced "The council of teachers has decided…" The arena went dead silent as everybody anticipating the decision of the teachers. Cho and Luna holding hands, hoping for a positive decision. This time Cho and Luna were sitting in the Griffindor side with Hermione. Luna was dressed as huge lion as everyone on the bench stared at her shocked. Hermione on the other hand, hoped that for the sake of Harry and Ron's safety. The game will indeed to be postponed."

"We have decided that this is for the captains of both teams to be decided." As soon as the news was out, Harry started considering a different strategy…

After feeling the latest wind condition, Harry was shocked as the Slytherin crowd started singing the "Weasley is our king" song. He decided which final strategy to use during the match. Even with a new advanced play, he couldn't help but hope for the Felix Felicius trick to work on Ron.

Few minutes before the match, Harry and his teammates ran down the entrance tunnel as the crowd's shouting started to rise again. "Guy's, just stick to the plan and we'll be fine. Especially you, Ron." Harry rose for a shout. The Griffindor team was not like the usual one. With Angelina Johnson graduated, Katie Bell still recovering at ST Mungo's, Fred and George gone, most of the teammates were inexperienced players.

Even so the team was determined to win the House cup. Another thing was that they all had enough faith in their team leader to follow his plan. Although, it all came down to Harry and Ron in the end.

Griffindors took off as the wooden barriers opened with a huge cheer. Despite it made Ron even more nervous, the team were full of courage and confidence. The cheering made Ron lose his sense around himself. The game was just starting and yet Ron felt like he had been playing for hours. The Slytherin team were already in position, deadly stares of the opponents were locked on Harry's face. The Slytherins, the dirtiest players in the four Houses. They would do anything to keep themselves in lead. Fouls, kicks even injuries.

As Madam Hooch made her way to the center of the field, the whole arena got silent. Through the fog and mist, Harry could only make out a blurry figure of around himself. "We are experiencing some heavy weather today so I recommend that you kids fly carefully today. The outcome of a collision today might be devastating." Instructed Madam Rolanda Hooch. "Like I always, I want a nice clean game from all of you."

"Hello, Hogwarts. Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season." said Zacharius Smith with high tone by the microphone. It was his first time as a commentator. "Today's game, Griffindor vs Slytherin. The rules are same and simple. The Quidditch pitch has three rings at each end. The chasers throw the Quaffle and try to put it through the rings to score…" His voice sounded nervous.

Madam Hooch opened the chest as she released the Bludgers. "The Bludgers are released, followed by the Golden Snitch. Remember. The Snitch costs 150 points, so the one who catches the Snitch first wins the game." He finished with a cheered tone.

Madam Hooch grabbed the Quaffle with a tight fist. As the players gave a sharp stare at the ball, the new commentator said "Madam Hooch has the Quaffle, the game is ready to begin." Hooch threw the ball smoothly into the air, then Smith shouted "And the game begins."

 **With a sudden move, the chasers that were after the Quaffle, both collided forcefully into one another crashing with a loud thud. All the players were on the move, except for the two keepers. The Slytherins played like their usual strategy. Always foul, use brutal force.**

Ron couldn't even see the players through the fog and mist. He barely saw the rings behind him as he tried to block a few shot attempts. Despite that Griffindor had already lost 40 points, Ron was becoming better and better. The air felt like a frozen wind. Harry began to seek for the Golden Snitch. It was impossible for him to find the Snitch through this situation. After 30 minutes, the scores were 40-60 in Slytherin's favor. But only one who gave Harry confidence to seek through the impossible was one and only. Cho. Harry took a quick look at Cho, who was sitting in the bench with Luna, Hermione and the other Griffindors.

After hours of intensive and brutal playing, Harry couldn't stop his seek for the Golden Snitch. There wasn't a single sight of the Snitch since the start of the game. Two of the players had already got knocked out by the Bludger. Dean Thomas and one of the Slytherin beaters. By the time the fog and the mist fled out, all players started gain their speed. Cormac MacLaggon was switched as a reserve chaser for Dean Thomas. Harry began to wonder where the snitch was while his mind was spinning thousands of thoughts. Ron having saved almost fifteen truly spectacular shots, and Ginny having made 190 of the 390 Griffindor goals. If there was anyway the Griffindor team could win, the chance seemed thin now. The arena was half empty and the remaining looked half asleep. And finally both teams decided to take break, fear of that the game is getting out of hand. Harry landed and got off their brooms as they all made their way to the changing room. They got to the room with full of disappointment, the only one who wasn't disappointed was obviously Ron.

He was playing perfect, saving most of the goal attempts. He wasn't even tired.

Cho came into the room along with Luna and Hermione. Her eyes met Harry's bright green eyes as she slowly made her way to him. The long game made him furious, but his stats instantly changed when he noticed her.

"Hey Harry, how was the game?" she said with a soft tone. "Yeah, its fine. But I still couldn't find the only Snitch! I tried everything. I searched everywhere. Still couldn't find it." gasped Harry. Cho could see the depression in Harry's eyes as she immediately held his arms and said "Now you look at me, Harry Potter. You can still find it, Harry. You know why? Because I believe in you. Not just me. Everyone believes in you.

I'm here for you, Harry. I'll always be. Now you go out there and beat them by catching the Snitch." As she finished, she gave him a soft hug.

Perched high above the other players, Harry watched as the chasers of the Slytherin team scored another goal, making it 550 to 390. The Slytherin captain, Urquhart made unbelievable dive to steal the Quaffle. Surprisingly, he succeeded and headed straight for the rings. "Oh, here comes Urquhart again with another great steal!" announced Smith with an odd shout. Seems like his voice died out of hours of commentary.

Urquhart dashed through the defenders with an unbelievable moves. Ginny, Dean and even Harry couldn't believe it as all of the defenders try to outrun Urquhart to form a defensive formation. Besides the other players were long gone and he was clear to goal. The Slytherins started to cheer up as Urquhart threw the Quaffle into one of the rings.

" _Weasley cannot save a thing,_

 _He cannot block a single ring,_

 _That's why Slytherins all sing:_

 _Weasley is our king."_

Suddenly, out of nowhere Ron Weasley's hand reached the ball and prevented it from getting in. Harry couldn't believe what he saw. It wasn't just luck. It wasn't a coincidence. It was pure confidence. The Slytherin crowd stood in silence and shocked as the offense turned to Gryffindors. "Unbelievable, what a save from Weasley. He's bound to get lucky sometimes" added Zacharius Smith with cough and exhausted tone.

Harry hated him. They still needed twenty more points to win If Harry Potter catch the Snitch. Their transition was too fast that Urquhart couldn't even notice. Every five seconds they pass the ball and that was the strategy that Harry produced. By the final pass from Dean, Ginny scored ten points. Their offense brought goal. Their strategy was successful. After almost fifteen minutes the scores where 550 to 330.

Tired and downright disappointed, Harry looked at Cho for support. Harry grinned when he saw Luna's odd lion outfit beside Cho. Just as the final ray of light disappeared behind the horizon, the quick reflection of the Snitch hit Harry's eyes. He finally found the Snitch.

Darkness began to fall over the arena as Dumbledore cast the spell to set up torches around the arena. " _Incendio"_

Instinctively, Harry started to follow the Snitch. "Seems like Potter has spotted the Snitch" shouted Smith. The Slytherin seeker, Harper noticed that Harry was chasing the snitch as he immediately chased after Harry. The Snitch instantly dashed out as it was out of Harry's sight. He was shocked because he has never seen a Snitch speed up like that fast. But after a few moments, he noticed one of Luna's lion outfit's eyes were odd. After all the Snitch was hiding on top of Luna. Having spotted the Snitch too, Harper rushed towards the Luna. Only a moment too late, did he notice impending accident? Cho, Luna and the others who were near them jumped out of the way. Harper couldn't balance his broom's height in that speed as he crashed into the crowd's seat. The Snitch had flown out of the way of this very last moment. Using this one good opportunity, Harry speeded up to the Snitch. He raced with the Slytherin's score to catch the Snitch before the score odds get higher than 140. Harry accelerated, the wind was whistling in his ears so that it drowned all sound of Smith's commentary or the crowd, but suddenly Harper outran Harry. Somehow he got through that horrible crash and now Harper was feet from it, his hands outstretched…

"Oi, Harper!" yelled Harry in desperation. "How did you survive that? And how much did Malfoy pay to come instead of him?"

He didn't know what made him say that, but Harper did double-take, he fumbled the Snitch, letting it slip right through his fingers, and shot right past it. Harry made a great swipe for the tiny, fluttering ball and caught it.

"YES!" Harry shouted. Wheeling around, he hurtled back toward the ground, the Snitch held in his right hand. As the crowd realized what happened, a great shout went up that almost drowned the sound of the whistle that signaled the end of the game.

Few hours after the match, a heavy rain poured over Hogwarts. Harry Potter and Cho Chang made a mad dash out of the rain through the entrance hall to the castle. The Griffindor common room was full crowd, music and noise as the common room was barely holding itself. Cho could even hear cheering and chanting from the entrance hall. They managed to sneak through the halls that leads to the Griffindor tower in order to get Harry's Invisibility cloak. When they finally arrived at the Fat Lady portrait, the main entrance to the common room, Cho wondered if there was any sign of Hogwarts's hideous caretaker Argus Filch and his bloody red eyed cat. Mrs Norris.

"Wait here. I'll be back in few minutes and keep out of sight!" Harry whispered with a soft tone. Cho sighed as she immediately grabbed his hand and said "Please be quick about it, Harry." Harry turned and gave her a little hug. "I promise. I wish you could come in with me. But they won't accept it and its against the most sacred rules." He stood at the front of the portrait for few minutes. And finally spoke "Or maybe you should wait at your house. Besides it's a lot safer for you to wait there." She stared at his glowing green eyes and looked around herself, wondering if there's any sign of Filch and Mrs Norris. "It's okay. I'll be fine." She sighed. Finally Cho saw Harry saying " _Scurvy cur",_ the password to the common room.

Moments later Cho noticed that Harry's face was full of surprise. She seriously wanted what happened during the party. " _Lumos_ " a bright flash of light glowed from Cho's wand as she saw that only Harry's head was visible. The rest was covered by the cloak. Harry started before Cho could even move her mouth.

"Wooow… Never thought Ron would kiss Lavender Brown."

As she heard the word that came out of his mouth, Cho had lost her in thought. She didn't even blink for few moments.

"He's not that kind of a boy, you know. Everyone knows it!" said Cho. While the most attention was focused on Ron, she immediately decided to change the subject of the conversation. Neither did Harry.

"So, what shall we do this evening?" he asked as together they made their way to the Room of Requirements. "I want to practice my spells. The spells that you taught me last year." whispered Cho. It has been almost a year since there wasn't any need of the D.A anymore. She had forgotten almost how to stun. "I could teach you new spells and hexes, if you wish." said Harry as he threw on the cloak over Cho and himself, making it impossible to see from around them. "I would love to, but after we finish practicing." They both agreed as a tiny smile appeared on Cho's face.

Once they had arrived at the Room of Requirements, Cho carefully removed the invisibility cloak. She calmed herself in order to produce powerful charms. The room was much more different than the last time Cho had visited. Most of the stuff were deserted and some west side mirrors and walls were fractured. It wasn't like she had remembered since the last D.A meeting when her ex-bestfriend Marrietta betrayed and reported abou the secret meeting that were once believed to be standing against the ministry of Magic. Both Cho and Harry used the mending charm fix everything in the room. " _REPARO"_ shouted both of them at the exact same time. Everything turned to their proper shape and place. Even the dust and the cobwebs were gone while the candles and the chandeliers started to light up the room.

"Okay." Harry said with a slight cough, calling her to be ready. "First, lets try it from the first. Try to disarm the puppet." As he told to Cho to us the disarming charm, she pointed her wand to the "death eater" puppet. " _Expelliarmus"_ she shouted. A scarlet colored flash glowed form the point of her wand as the opponent's wand flew out into the air.

As the time went by, Cho's spell attempts were successful. Spell after spell, charm after charm, she relearned everything Harry taught. After two hours of practicing, Cho came to the final and most challenging charm. The patronus charm.

"Remember, think about your happiest memory!" said Harry. Cho nodded. And again she took her time to calm herself and few moments late she pointed her wand into the air. "You know the basics, right?" she nodded again. "Then what're you waiting for? I'm barely holding myself to watch your demonstration. The last sentence made them burst out of laugh.

" _EXPECTO PATRONUM_ " she shouted but only a tiny silver flash appeared on the edge of her wand. Cho knew she can't do it on the first try. No one did it before, unless you're an extremely powerful wizard like Albus Dumbledore. She regained her concentration and shouted again " _EXPECTO PATRONUM"_ Opening her eyes, she looked to see the big beautiful glowing swan floating in the air above her.

"Ohhh… It's still so beautiful." added Cho.

Somehow the was a lot different than the one from the past. Its size was much more bigger and more aggressive. "But why is it different than last year's?" she asked with a slightly confused face. Harry noticed that she was biting her bottom lip. "It means your memory is more powerful. They often change physically and mentally. But sometimes it is a pretty rare coincidence to change their form." explained Harry as a shade of smile formed on Cho's face.

"I thought about the moment that we spent on Gruinard Bay during your birthday." She told him.

"Me too." Harry said breathlessly in return.

Silence again.

It was quite obvious to both of them that they didn't speak words of they didn't have to. Their eyes and body language were enough to tell how they were feeling. After moments of chatting they left the Room of Requirements, taking their sweet with every step they made through the hallways toward the Ravenclaw tower.

To get to the Ravenclaw tower, they had to cut past the entrance to the great hall. As they did son, they noticed that there were lights and echoes of footsteps peeking through the crack open of the door frame. Every few moments they would steal a glances at one another, widening their smiles each time they look at each other. No words were needed to be spoken.

As they went up the spiral staircase that leads to the Ravenclaw common room, Cho slipped out of the Invisibility cloak , looked around to see if there was anyone coming, and made her way into the common room. Just before turning the corner up the stairs, she turned back to take one last look at Harry, even though he was under the invisibility cloak.

"Bye, Harry. Goodnight." Whispered Cho.

"Goodnight, Cho. See you later!" Harry whispered back from under the cloak.

She was quite sure that he would not take off for Gryffindor tower she was no longer within his sight. A smile formed on her lips as she waved. Feeling satisfied that he saw the wave and was perhaps even waving back, she went in.

10


End file.
